Portrait of a Dotty Family

Some say our family are a bit dotty. I don’t know why.

(to make your own dotty Lichtenstein inspired self portrait, find instructions at Art Projects for Kids here)

Going Dotty for Lichtenstein

Ahead of our planned trip to the Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern, the boys have been learning a bit about Lichtenstein and his art. Today, we made tributes to Lichtenstein based around advertisements. Gman and I based our paintings on adverts from a food magazine, and Waif made his own advert for a games console. We used good ole sequin waste to get the dotty effect. What fun!

Here’s mama’s frying pan:

Gman’s knife:

And Waif’s games console:

Colourful Faces

We have been having some more fun in a Warhol style! Mugshots were taken, desaturated and posterized in Photoshop, then printed out, whereupon we got to work with the acrylic paint:

Fun, fun, fun!

What’s the Time?

This week’s Sketch Tuesday assignment was to draw something that tells the time.  Waif and his Dad both went for good old-fashioned analogue devices:

Gman’s clock also shows the temperature:

I haven’t worn a watch in years, and use my mobile phone to tell the time, if I really need to know:

And yes, my phone really is that basic. No iPhone or BlackBerry for me. Call me a Luddite, but I have no burning desire to join the ranks of the frantically hyperconnected. In fact, I am reading Richard Watson’s book “Future Minds” at the moment and kind of agree when he asserts that:

We think cellphones are connecting us, but they are turning us into a society of rude, impatient, narrow-minded, stressed-out, aggressive and isolated individuals.

Yes, mobile technology is useful, but I don’t think 24/7 connection is a good idea. Where is the time and space to think and reflect and to, well, just be sometimes?

Blue Bob and Other Feline Adventures

Ahead of a family trip to the Tate Modern next month, we thought we would make a start on a Pop Art project. We have borrowed books on the library about Andy Warhol and other pop artists, and have scoured the interwebs for project ideas. First up, colourful cats in the style of Red Sam by Andy Warhol. We started out with instructions from Art Projects for Kids, but of course the boys ended up putting their own unique twist on the theme! Here are Waif’s cats:

And Gman’s:

And if you thought Mama wouldn’t be able to resist joining in, you’d be right. But I only made one, cos someone has to make the dinner, right?

A Spring Burst of Creativity

I reckon spring must finally be here. Not because of any great change in the weather, but because the boys have had a sudden burst of creativity. Gman has been designing his own board game, which I am pleased to report uses a hexagonal patterned board . I am sure he will be writing about it soon on his blog. Waif has been drawing more of his intricate little maps:

Waif has also written his first poem in a very long time. I am impressed with its rhythm and layout, but wonder if the subject matter reflects too much science fiction?!

Does spring inspire new bursts of creativity in you or your children?

Fun with Fungi

We had fun with this week’s Sketch Tuesday assignment, which was to sketch a mushroom. Even MM took part, so there wasn’t mushroom at the table (boom boom!)

Waif drew a selection of chestnut mushrooms:

And so did I:

MM drew a mushroom ornament:

And Gman put an incredible amount of work into his detailed sketch of a jar of mushroom antipasti:

Zip it Up!

This week’s sketching assignment was to draw something with a zip. Just lately, whatever the assignment, Waif has managed to find a way of sketching one of his collection of soft toys. This week was no exception, as he sketched “Zippy” (who my British readers may remember from the TV show Rainbow in the 1970s…)

Gman found a pencil case that is entirely made up of zips (11 in total!) and sketched that:

I went with one of Waif’s snow boots. You’d think, with it being “spring” and all that we’d have been able to put these away til winter, but today it snowed again. Brrrr.

Another fun family sketching session!

Bananagrams and Other Adventures in Yellow

Where on earth did *that* week go?

So, here we are, back doing our sketches for Sketch Tuesday. This week’s assignment to sketch something yellow.

I chose Bananagrams. If you haven’t discovered this game, I highly recommend it, as you will see from my journalling:

8 year old Waif once again chose to draw one of his soft toys. I think he has done a great job drawing yellow doggy. I especially like the way his ear drapes over his leg:

And cool teenager Gman went with a host of characters from The Simpsons:

Vase, Vanilla & Vinegar

This week’s theme for Sketch Tuesday was to draw something beginning with “V”. My initial thought was to attempt a self portrait, but I chickened out on that one and went with the rather safer option of a vase:

The boys raided the pantry for their sketches.

Gman found the vanilla extract:

And Waif pulled out a bottle of vinegar: